Kyler Murray’s statement is opposite of anything Patrick Mahomes would do

On Monday morning, Erik Burkhardt, the agent for Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray and former top overall draft pick, decided to release a statement to clarify the position of his client. It was a shot across the bow of his employer, a missive that not only sought to clarify ongoing communication and wants but to also serve as a warning as well.

In short, it was everything Patrick Mahomes would never, ever do.

Adam Schefter of ESPN is the reporter who broke the news and posted the statement on Twitter. If you’ve not read it, you should definitely get a look before reading anything further here.

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is taking the opposite approach to anything Patrick Mahomes would do in the NFL.

If you’ve missed the drama of the last few weeks, Murray’s own commitment and work ethic have been questioned as the leader of the Cardinals. He was accused of not even finishing his team’s season-ending loss to the Los Angeles Rams in the postseason, and after the Pro Bowl, Murray ended up removing any references to the Cardinals on his own Instagram account. It suddenly appeared as if the team and player could be headed for a divorce.

In the weeks that have followed, the rough edges have been smoothed out a bit—or at least the fires have died down from the public’s view. Reports have emerged, even from ownership level, that Murray is a part of the long-term plan and that the Bidwill family expects a long-term contract extension to be done sometime this summer.

Then came the statement.

Can you imagine for a second Patrick Mahomes sending this sort of thing? It’s impossible to believe Leigh Steinberg would even allow Mahomes to think about such an idea.

This entire statement is awkward from front to back. It lists all of Murray’s accomplishments so far through his first few years in the league, including making the Pro Bowl “in the ultra-competitive and QB-loaded NFC.” I mean, at this point, you’re really reaching if you want to tout these sorts of awards as reminders for fans. What is the end goal here? Why are you flexing for fans in such an awkward and public-facing way?

Can you imagine any fan actually saying, “You know, I wasn’t quite sure I was ready for my favorite team to sign Murray long term but I forgot how he made the Pro Bowl in a year in which the NFC was ultra-competitive and QB-loaded”?

The worst part of this statement, however, is the way in which it airs concerns, absolves Murray as a part of those concerns, and upsets any sort of hierarchy within the organization. Everyone looks bad here: the owner, the head coach, the general manager, and the player.

The Chiefs’ leadership culture would never have allowed this to happen in any way, shape, or form. The communication has always been too clear. The expectations have always been understood. The issues have never surfaced because a healthy environment doesn’t allow them to.

Murray wrote this and released this for the fans. That’s the craziest part, that Murray made himself a multi-million dollar martyr who might have to get his $40 million per year from another team if the Cardinals don’t want to be the ones to pay him. What does he expect to hear from fans in response to this?

In the end, Murray chose the world’s worst font to make the dumbest statement in a battle that should have never been made public in the first place. There’s an art to leaking concerns to the press and Murray’s side has apparently never learned that discipline. That’s why the Cardinals, for all their talent, are looking like a Texans-level circus this offseason and a team with a strong organizational culture like the Chiefs looks like the exact opposite.